After nearly 20 years of courtroom skirmishes, a property owner’s fight with the St. Johns River Water Management District over developing a few acres will be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The outcome could change rules on what concessions government agencies can expect when owners seek permits for construction.

“This case is going to have an impact, either way,” said Michael Jones, a Central Florida attorney who has been part of the dispute since 1994.

In November of last year, the Florida Supreme Court rejected landowner Coy Koontz Jr.’s complaint that the water management district violated his rights by setting unreasonable conditions on a permit he would need to develop family property.

Koontz persisted, and the U.S. Supreme Court agreed in the fall to hear arguments on the case in January. His supporters see big stakes.

“We’re seeing these abuses of the permit process across the country,” said Brian Hodges, an attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation, which is representing Koontz.